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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-02-18Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SUPPLEMENTMILS NEWSSkopje, 18 February 1997[01] 40 MILLION EKI HELP FOR MACEDONIAYesterday Finance and Economy ministers of the EU(Ekofin) took an unanimous stand that Macedonia can be granted with a microfinacial help of 42 million eki in the form of a beneficiary credit, an amount which according to the assessments of the IMF corresponds to 60% of the budget deficit in the payment balance of accounts of the country.`Nova Makedonija reports, the EU offers these means as its part of the Donation Conference which in collaboration with the World bank is to be organized next week in Brussels. According to the spokesman at the Union of ministers, so far the largest hindrance for a positive solution of the Macedonian demands behind which lied Greece was overcome at the beginning of (Ekofin). During the meeting of the EU Union of ministers speakers were the British delegates who asserted that they should consider the possibility to give away a part of the help in a form of donation, and the other part in a form of credit. It was decided that this would be discussed further on after it was established whether and how many donators are ready to help Macedonia. Otherwise, as it is known the ministers of the EU(Ekofin) had talked on the topic of helping Macedonia one month ago but ever since no result was accomplished mainly due to Greek's withstanding. It is considered that with this help Macedonia will be able to return the 30 million dollar debt towards the European bank. This will enable Macedonia to count on realization of the finance protocol within the frames of the EU Agreement which bears a credit of 150 million dollars under very favourable conditions. With yesterday's positive attitude of Ekofin at the Donation Conference in Brussels which is scheduled for 25th and 26th this month it is expected that enough sources will be gathered to cover the deficit of the payment balance of accounts which amounts to 87 million dollars. A help in a form of donations is expected from the EU state members, the international finance institutions and the countries which are invited to participate, the USA, Switzerland and Japan as well. [02] SOFIJANSKI - ` THE LANGUAGE DISPUTE IS RIDICULOUS AND FORMAL'The president of the Bulgarian official government, Stefan Sofijanski, gave his first foreign media interview for the Macedonian Radio. Regarding the development of the relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria as well as the eventual continuation of the negotiations for the 19th economy and culture contracts that haven't yet been signed due to the so-called language dispute Sofijanski replied:" We will continue the negotiations - because the solutions will reflect certain economy interests for both Bulgaria and Macedonia. There should not be any formal hindrances such as the language dispute. This dispute should be solved by the Government which will have the longest mandate. At the present moment we are setting the domestic and foreign relations exclusively from the economic aspect of the problems. I wouldn't comment on the foreign-political problems, especially on such as the language dispute which according to my opinion is ridiculous and formal. We will not pay attention to them', stated Sofijanski for the Macedonian Radio.[03] INTENSIFIED MILITARY-CIVIL CONTROL NEAR THE BULGARIA- MACEDONIA CROSSINGSLast Friday night on the international road towards Macedonia, near the Bulgarian border crossing Gjushevo a special control was set to stop and search all vehicles and travelers, writes `Vecher'. Armed members of the Bulgarian military are halting the vehicles while specialists from Sofia are searching the vehicles and the travelers. By this all Macedonian and Bulgarian citizens who travel to Macedonia are deprived of all food products that they carry with them. A check of the fuel tanks is also performed and large quantities of fuel is taken away from them or the vehicles are being returned to Kjustendil. `Vecher' reports, the Macedonian gas tanks which transport oil derivatives from Bulgaria ever since last Friday have been returned empty on the grounds that oil derivatives export from Bulgaria is not permitted.Yesterday the Macedonian media reported of strict controls of the passengers at the border crossing Deve Bair as well as at all other crossings between the two countries. Due to this, there is a drastic decrease of the number of Macedonian citizens who travel to Bulgaria as well as Bulgarian citizens who come to Macedonia mostly to sell food products. According to the latest information in the past three days there have not been any oil tanks and no trucks transporting food through the border crossings at the Bulgarian- Macedonian frontier. The reason for this is the official ban from the Bulgarian Government put on the export of Bulgarian fuel and food supplies . [04] EVERT BLAMES THE GREEK GOVERNMENT FOR `INDULGENCE THAT HAS BECOME A REALITY'The leader of the Greek opposition party `New Democracy', Militiadis Evert, yesterday blamed the Greek Government for wrong moves regarding the `Skopje's issue', pointing out that the Prime Minister, Kostas Simitis, and the Chief of the Greek Diplomacy, Theodoros Pangalos, have turned the indulgence towards Skopje into a reality. `Makfaks' reports, in the interview for `Ta Nea' the leader of the "New Democracy' assessed that the Greek Government has made a big mistake by revealing its intention to accept the name `New Macedonia' and thus weakened its own position. According to Evert, it is possible that the negotiator Sairus Vens should give back the mandate and leave the UN Security Council to decide alone and recognize `Skopje' under the name of `New Macedonia' which should be used by the UN.[05] 754,9 MILLION DENARS FOR THE UNDERDEVELOPED REGIONSAt yesterday's session the Macedonian Government accepted the program for realization of the assignments of the Agency for underdeveloped regions in the year 1997 as well as the report for the realized programme in 1996. According to the programme for this year 754 million denars from have been specified from the Republic Budget for the under developed regions while the other means will be provided from another income. A main part of the means - 588 million denars, as it is cited in the official report from the Session, will be designated for realization of building projects, modernization, reconstruction of local roads, building and reconstruction of electricity networks, PTT networks, micro accumulations and other projects from the economic infrastructure.69 million dollars are planed for the realization of investment projects of building and reconstructing school premises in the primary education and health veterinarian units. A part of the means designated for the economically under developed regions will be realized as participation in durable depositions in the financing of particular projects in the industry and agriculture as well as for opening of new small industrial capacities which will be built in specific regions. [06] SDSM - THE PARTY CONTINUES TO COLLABORATE WITH PDP AND SPMThe assessment of the local election are favorable. The failure in the race for the mayor position in Skopje is yet to be discussed while the party is willing to continue to collaborate in the Government with PDP and SPM. Regarding the decision of the leadership of the Party for Democratic Prosperity that the coalition in the Government should be continuing only under the condition that the language issue and the problem of the high education in Albanian are solved. SDSM holds the attitude that if PDP ministers leave the Government immediately the next day pre-terminal parliamentary elections will be announced.Regarding the second coalition partner in the Government - SPM, at yesterday's session of SDSM there was a little discussion and the attitude was to wait for further inner- party solution. [07] THE HIGH SCHOOL UNION SUPPORTS THE DEMANDS OF THE MACEDONIAN STUDENTSYesterday in Skopje some thousand high school pupils and about 100 students protested in front of the Education Ministry, the Parliament, the Government, the Constitutional Court and the rector's head office against the Law for the usage of the languages of the nationalities at the Pedagogical faculty. Unsatisfied with the law by which the Albanian students at the Pedagogical faculty will be allowed to follow the lectures in Albanian, the students and pupils demanded abolition of the law and resignation of the Minister of Education, Sofija Todorova. They also demanded resignation of the leadership of the Student Union.According to the president of the Student Union at the Pedagogical Faculty the unexpressed support from the other students from the `Ss. Cyril and Methodij' University is a result from the pressures made by the professors and the higher state institutions. Another, largely attended protest of the students and the pupils is announced for today and it should begin at 12h. Otherwise, yesterday the high school pupils and the students carried slogans such as: `Macedonian in Macedonia', `Resign Sofija', `The language - our mother land, past, present and future', ` Open your eyes - Macedonia to the Macedonians', etc. In front of the Ministry of Education building the students and pupils expressed their dissatisfaction by throwing eggs at the building. The High School Union of Macedonia has expressed its total, moral support to the demand of the student at the `Ss. Cyril and Methodij' University regarding the enforced law for the usage of the languages of the nationalities at the Pedagogical faculty in Skopje, and regarding the official usage of the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet. `Vecher' reports, the Union called on all high school students to behave according to their personal consciousness and conscience. An official support to the quiet protests of the students from the Pedagogical Faculty in Skopje and their demands was given by the student organizations from the Economy, Forestry, Technological-Metallurgy faculties and the Faculty for Physical Culture. On the part of the Commission for Education and Physical culture of VMRO- DPMNE yesterday there was an initiative to the Constitutional Court of Macedonia for conducting proceedings to asses the constitutionality of the first two acts of the Law for languages in which the education is to be conducted at the Pedagogical faculty. According to the signatory of the initiative these two acts are not concordant to the act 48 passage 4 from the Constitution of Macedonia according to which members of the nationalities have the right to an education in their mother tongue in the primary and secondary school. [08] AT THE `TETOVO UNIVERSITY' - CELEBRATION OF THE THIRD ANNIVERSARYThe `Tetovo university' in Mala Rechica, as reported by the media last weekend, celebrated the third anniversary of its existence. At the celebration in Mala Rechica besides the head people of the `university' attended the president of the PDPA, Arben Dzaferi, the mayor of Gostivar, Rufi Osmani, representatives from NDP and other personalities from the public and religious life of the Albanians in Tetovo. In his opening speech the rector, Fadilj Sulejmani, said that the `university' was based on a legal decision of the Tetovo, Gostivar and Debar Assembly and thus it should be financed and made official by the state'. ` Unlike the other two universities which are ethnically clean, `the Tetovo university' is an educational institution of all nations who live in Macedonia. The university will continue to co- operate with the parties but it will not allow them to interfere or to make any ideological influences on its working', stated Fadilj Sulejmani at the festivity in Mala Rechica.[09] ALBANIAN REPORTERS FROM MACEDONIA ON THE SETTLEMENT OF THE SITUATION IN KOSOVOReporters from the editorial office in Albanian language in the Macedonian Radio and Television as well as the paper `Fljaka e Vlazerimit' yesterday sent an open letter to the embassies and diplomatic missions by which they stand for overcoming the difficult situation in which the Albanians find themselves in Kosovo. `Dnevnik' reports, the letter says that the Albanian people in Kosovo has for several years now been exposed to the terror and repression on part of the Serbian regime and this further endangers the stability in the region and wider.MILS SUPPLEMENT[10] `Macedonia under its constitutional name'(`Nova Makedonija', 14th February, 1997)Under its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia has found itself in the states register introduced in `The World Almanac for 1997'. This book of data or one can freely say the most complete `mobile library' contains in 276 pages information on the most important world events from last year, - starting with the election results, the birth- and death rate, history, economy, traffic, climate and including information on the number of HIV positive and AIDS infected people and other information. A half page of the Almanac there is devoted to Macedonia. Unlike all other world institutions which due to the well known problems regarding the dispute with neighbouring Greece over the name put the country under the letter "F" - `Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia', in this edition of the Almanac, Macedonia, according to alphabetical order, is placed among the countries whose names begin with "M". Like a `Solomon's solution' the compilers of the Almanac had also added the `former Yugoslav...' under the name of Macedonia. What contains the text on this half page? Among other, it says that the state has a population of 2.104.035, i.e. 212 people per square metre. The Macedonians present 65% of the population, then follow the Albanians with 22%. The Albanian and Serbo-Croatian are spoken besides the Macedonian language. The religion is orthodox (67%) and Muslim (30%). There are over 280 thousand light vehicles, 26 thousand vehicles for public transport and civilian air transport. Further on the World Almanac devotes place on the Macedonian history and it says:' Macedonia, as a part of the large region also called Macedonia, was under Turkish rule from 1389 to 1912 when the ethnic Greeks, Serbs and Slavs have gained independence. Serbia gained the largest part of the territory, while the rest was taken by Greece and the Bulgaria. In 1913 the territory was attached to Serbia which in 1918 became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenians (later became Yugoslavia). In 1946 Macedonia became a constitute republic within Yugoslavia. Macedonia proclaimed its independence on 8th September 1991 and in 1993 was accepted in the UN under its temporary name. The UN forces which consist of few hundred American soldiers were disposed here to prevent the expansion of the warring fractions from Bosnia in other parts of the Balkans.' (end)mils news 18 February, 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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